Vanished Smile Did you know that the Mona Lisa, probably the world's most famous painting, was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and was not recovered for over two years? "Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa" by R. A. Scotti details the events of that disappearance. On Tuesday, August 22, 1911 it was discovered that the Mona Lisa had been stolen. What was amazing was that the painting had been stolen on Sunday. At that time, security was so lax that workmen regularly removed works of art from the walls of the Louvre for cleaning and restoration without any type of formal notification or documentation. About a day and a half of open museum time had gone by before security guards were able or interested in establishing that the painting had not been removed by museum officials.
This was a time of financial "robber barons" so the expected suspects were an art theft ring who stole to satisfy wealthy collectors. The book details several individuals who either stole or copied masterworks for these individuals. Interestingly, Pablo Picasso was suspected of having played a role in the theft. He had been the recipient of statuary that had been taken from the Louvre. Without modern day sensitive electronics, many found it very simple to pick an object from a display, hide it in their clothing, and leave the building. The theft did occur when forensic detection methods were just beginning to be used. The knowledge that fingerprints are unique and obtainable at a crime scene was becoming a part of police procedure.
The author exposes us to art history, detailing the admiration
held by France's king, Francois I for Leonardo Da Vinci. Francois I had begun
to convert the Louvre from a fortress to a palace, collecting the art which
would be central to the Louvre's treasures today. He greatly appreciated Leonardo's
work and wished to move the fresco of the Last Supper to France. Since that
proved impractical, he persuaded Leonardo to imigrate to France. Leonardo still
had his Mona Lisa portrait in his possession at his death. Eventually Francois
acquired it for his palace. The idea that such a celebrated portrait of an Italian
woman was in the possession of France was claimed as a nationalistic motivation
for the crime. "Vanished Smile" is a wonderful portrait of the art
community of the time and a reminder of how unguarded the world's treasures
often have been.
[7-5-09]
Commencement The college years are a bridge time between childhood when we live with our parents, and the post graduation period when we must make our own way in the adult world. "Commencement" by J. Courtney Sullivan is an exploration of this period.
Four young women had roomed on the same hall together as first years (definitely not freshmen) at Smith, an exclusive women's college. When they first met, there were really no similarities that united them, but they became a cohesive group as they found something in each other that helped with the pain of reaching maturity. The four "Smithies", at college in the late 1990's, are cocooned in a supportive world. Celia arrives at college with an engagement ring. She is a legacy student who was persuaded by her mother to hopefully repeat her mother's pleasant experience of college in pearls and heels. The present day reality is far different. No girl-on-girl showers before 10:00 AM and clothing is encouraged during the opening convocation ceremony. Sally's mother had died the summer before school started, leaving her a burden of sadness. April is a scholarship student who is happy to leave her hippy-dippy mother and focus on her studies. She does quickly become involved in feminist activism on campus. Bree was a beautiful Irish Catholic girl who wanted to explore a world that differed from her expected slot at a Catholic university. The novel is a snapshot of the choices that these friends make and the long ranging consequences of these choices. Sally tries so hard to find some sense of life and replace the hole in her family that the death of her mother had created. She becomes romantically involved with an aging professor, which only leads to more angst. April dives headlong into feminist politics, generating friction with her friends as her radical attitudes cause conflict with the more conservative members of the group. They are rightly concerned about the dangers that her choices inject into her life. Bree finds the love of her life to be another woman, which leads to intense conflict with her family.
These are interesting, believable characters
who move past their college years and achieve some level of maturity on these
pages. It is both a portrait of the college years and the transition period
of beginning a career. How strong are the friendship bonds that seemed so
strong during college? How much do women change as they mature? [7-12-09]
Miss Harper Can Do It Annie Harper's boyfriend went off to war in Iraq and she decided to fill her time by journalizing her experiences on the home front. Nothing went as planned. "Miss Harper Can Do It" is the charming debut novel by Jane Berentson in Annie's voice as she copes with not wanting to join a lonely partner's group, befriends a senior citizen, and tries to raise a chicken.
David Petersen was in ROTC when Annie met him in college, so it was not a big surprise when he was deployed to Iraq. Annie is a third grade teacher who is in her third year of teaching. Her journal style is usually exuberant. She truly loves the challenge of teaching and warmly connects with her students. She has the sense of playfulness that would make an excellent elementary teacher. Annie even enjoys the water cycle and is proud of the poster she created to illustrate it for her students. The journal also chronicles her down moments. She struggles with short, inconclusive phone calls from David and often finds his emails unsatisfactory. Although Annie is very self expressive in her journal, she leaves so much of herself out of her emails. Annie surprises herself by how much of her ordinary life she continues to pursue. She does not make her life into a monument to the absent David. She spends time with Gus, a friend from childhood. Gus has returned from Peace Corps time spent in the Dominican Republic and has taken a menial job so he can have free time to pursue his artistic career. He is a very supportive friend for Annie. They spend time together on Gus' mural projects and Annie's classroom projects.
David is dismayed when Annie has no interest in
socializing with other women left in Washington after his company is sent to
Iraq. As an alternative, Annie goes to a senior center to find a creative, supportive
way to use her social skills. She regularly visits Loretta who tells Annie how
she coped with an absent husband during World War II. Loretta's advice to Annie
is, "Get a chicken." Apparently they are a perfect low maintenance
pet with the added bonus of producing eggs. Incidentally, she named the chicken
Helen. How could I not like the book? My only criticism is that the author used
footnotes as a stylistic quirk for Annie to provide additional details. Sometimes
these extend for a couple of pages and impede the reader's flow.
[7-19-09]
The Sign While TV reporter, Grace Logan, is filming the breaking off of an ice shelf in the Antarctic, a mysterious sign appears in the sky. This light changes shape and shimmers in ways that do not correspond to any known light source. Is it a UFO, a prank, or possible a sign from God? This is the beginning of the novel "The Sign" by Raymond Khoury. Reaction to the light is varied, but intense. Grace's television crew manages a link that gives the event world wide exposure. While the world clamors for more information, a similar phenomenon occurs at the Arctic Circle. While Grace and her crew are trying to decide how to cope with their exclusive story, they receive a phone call from a Coptic priest in Egypt. Previously a documentary had been filmed at a remote monastery where Brother Jerome, a well-known humanitarian, had gone to spend some time in spiritual seclusion. His accommodations are in a natural cave and Brother Jerome had covered the walls of the cave with drawings identical to the sign that had appeared in the sky.
A parallel story line follows Matt Sherwood in Boston. Matt had been the son every parent fears to have. In trouble with the law for petty pranks as a teen-ager, he progressed to car theft and had to spend time in jail. His brother, Danny had the opposite temperament. Danny went through MIT on a scholarship and landed an extremely remunerative technical job with one of his professors. Danny then bankrolled a business for Matt where he was able to use his talents to restore muscle cars. Matt and his parents were devastated when they learned that Danny had been killed in a helicopter crash while doing research in Africa. Its been two years since Danny's death, but suddenly Matt hears that Danny might be alive.
These two story lines link in unexpected ways,
then mingle with corporate greed to a surprising revelation. There are characters
who are motivated to effect positive change worldwide and there are also megalomaniacs
with shadowy goals. Action ranges in several global locations and is satisfyingly
hectic. The car thefts and chases would make great movie scenes. This is an
intellectual thriller that leads the reader to question what he thinks about
global warming and the power that spirituality has to unite or divide the world.
There are several surprising twists and also a deeper social message here.
[7-26-09]
by Helen Davis